Thursday, 3 June 2010

19 May 2010 - Randy Newman, Royal Festival Hall

A rare opportunity to see this American legend and virtual soundtrack of every Pixar movie you have seen (and a few more besides). Delightfully warm and witty, he warmed to his theme as the evening progressed and cast a few spells of magic. I enjoyed his Buzz Lightyear schtick about the musician's craft being drowned out "by some bulldog on the screen" - that's Hollywood for you. The joke about old rock stars never retiring was given a twist of irony when he got the audience to belt out the "you're dead" chorus to one of the songs. Well worth stepping out for, I'd say.

THE RULES SECTION

The Rules of Standing:Tall units - no problem anywhere.Average height units - get there well before the doors open and head straight for the front of stage area.Smaller units - (apart from "forget it") as before x 10, head straight for the front, do not pass Go, do not stop at the bar ...

The Rules of Dylan:Bob plays where he pleases, be it in Cardiff or London.Expect set rotation - no promises."Those that are first shall be last ..." The die-hards who queue all day to be 'front standing' do not necessarily get plum spots each time.Expect to stand in the stalls, even if you have a seat.More accessible Dylan = wider audience. Wider audience = take the kids.Go to the Bob Links section on http://www.expectingrain.com/ for the complete reviews (and show some respect while you're there, please).

Store Appearances Rules:HMV - turn up early and join the scrum at the back of the store while they clear the aisles and set up stage.

Puregroove - great independent venue - so just turn up. Sound system is ace, artwork in the background can be a bit disconcerting.

Oh we wish - for historical interest only -Virgin Megastore (then Zavvi) - (Wrist-band affair) Queue early in the morning to buy cd and collect entry wristband for later show. Go away and have coffee or otherwise waste the rest of your day while you wait. Or if you're lucky you can roll up at showtime and get a good view from the stairwell above the stage without the queue malarkey, but don't quote me on this one.

The Asides

Pink, Brixton Academy - 14 August 2007No secret that the lady has a gay following, but at the Academy (body searches still compulsory) my spies tell me someone chucked her bra at the performer. Further, during some chit-chat when Pink wondered out loud about changing her hairstyle and making is shoulder-length, she was booed and hissed ...

Prince, O2 - September 2007At the final performance of the diminutive one's O2 residency, the audience were issued with purple glowsticks - the management thinking they would look nice when waved en-masse during 'Purple Rain'. However, the bright sparks up in the tiers had other ideas and there really was purple rain that night ...